+1 awesome beer on tap and in cans. I got a recipe I brew that's vary vary close to it secret is cold steeping some of the dark grains. Dannyboy I'm curious about you recipe that you used for yours. If you wouldn't mind sharing it with us.

Kostritzer's advertising 'Das Schwarze mit der blonden Seele' is still one of the smartest slogan I've ever heard... Awesome trait for both a great woman or a great beer!

But, in my opinion, what Kostritzer does even better (which, I realize, is a sizeable statement) is their Edel Pils... Absolutely mindblowing!

They don't distribute the pils widely, I think partially because since Bitburger bought out Kostritzer, they probably don't want to create competition among their own brands. Anyways, it is maybe hard to get one, but absolutely worth the effort, must try!

+1 awesome beer on tap and in cans. I got a recipe I brew that's vary vary close to it secret is cold steeping some of the dark grains. Dannyboy I'm curious about you recipe that you used for yours. If you wouldn't mind sharing it with us.

I'll show mine if you show yours! :lol:Not a Kostritzer clone attempt just a Schwarzbier recipe I got from a buddy. First time brewing it. It's in the keg lagering right now. I was a bit surprised it didn't attenuate better than 1.016 but if I recall correctly my mash temp actually rose a point or 2 in the first 20 mins. Didn't taste bad when I kegged it.

+1 awesome beer on tap and in cans. I got a recipe I brew that's vary vary close to it secret is cold steeping some of the dark grains. Dannyboy I'm curious about you recipe that you used for yours. If you wouldn't mind sharing it with us.

I'll show mine if you show yours! :lol:Not a Kostritzer clone attempt just a Schwarzbier recipe I got from a buddy. First time brewing it. It's in the keg lagering right now. I was a bit surprised it didn't attenuate better than 1.016 but if I recall correctly my mash temp actually rose a point or 2 in the first 20 mins. Didn't taste bad when I kegged it.

Hmmm, I just realized I have everything I need for this recipe except the specific yeast and hops. I have lots of hallertau, saaz, and tettnang I can substitute, and I think 34/70 (which I have) should work ok so I might have to give this a try this weekend. I like that grain bill.

Tapped this one the other day, after about 2 weeks lagering. Had a sample with a bud...OK we had a few pints each.

Pretty damn good but has a bit more 'roasty' character than I expected given the grain bill. Still all in all it's pretty tasty. Going to have a Kostritzer tomorrow for comparison sake. Not bad for my first attempt at this style.

Yeah, at 5% of the grain bill, that was way too much Carafa III. I did a Dunkel with 1% Carafa III and could still detect a hint of roast in it.

This style can benefit from brewing with really low alkalinity water and reserving the Carafa from the main mash. With a slight low mash pH of around 5.3 to 5.4 in the main mash, the short contact for the roast added at the end of mash could impart only portions of the flavor and color.

Yeah, at 5% of the grain bill, that was way too much Carafa III. I did a Dunkel with 1% Carafa III and could still detect a hint of roast in it.

This style can benefit from brewing with really low alkalinity water and reserving the Carafa from the main mash. With a slight low mash pH of around 5.3 to 5.4 in the main mash, the short contact for the roast added at the end of mash could impart only portions of the flavor and color.

That's what I suspected Martin. Did you add the carafa late in the above mentioned Dunkel? I'll give that a try next batch.

Maybe try adding the carafa right before you sparge, you should get the color with less flavor. I just tryed this on an amber ale with 6oz of chocolate malt (10 gal batch) that I wanted a little more color but not the flavor. I didn't have carafa or midnight wheat or I would have used them.

I racked my schwarz (hmm, that sounds funny...) this past weekend. I did a bit of a variation on Dannyboys recipe. HBS was out of vienna, so I used pilsner. I added the carafa just before sparging. Got a nice color and hoped to avoid the roasty notes. Tasted great at racking. I had a pint of Kostritzer the night before, and this one compared favorably. Hoping the lagering time passes quickly.